No Joint Clinton-Palin Appearance at New York Rally

September 18, 2008

By NITYA

ABC News' Imtiyaz Delawala and Teddy Davis Report: In the case of the 2008 presidential election, life does not always imitate the art of well-received Saturday Night Live skit, especially where a joint appearance of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin are concerned.

Clinton backed out of a protest scheduled for Monday in New York against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's attendance at the opening of the UN General Assembly after learning that organizers also invited the Republican vice presidential nominee without informing her.

Organized by American Jewish groups, the "Rally to Stop Iran Now" sent out a media advisory billing the joint appearance in their headline: "SEN. HILLARY CLINTON AND GOV. SARAH PALIN AT “RALLY TO STOP IRAN NOW,” AT UNITED NATIONS, MONDAY, SEPT. 22nd, 11:45 A.M."

The rally will feature Palin as well as Speaker of Israel’s Knesset Dalia Itzik and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.

"Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event," said Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines in a statement to reporters. "Senator Clinton will therefore not be attending."

Palin spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt released a statement on Clinton's canceled appearance saying, "Governor Palin believes that the danger of a nuclear Iran is greater than party or politics. She hopes that all parties can rally together in opposition to this grave threat."

Clinton's spokesman had no direct response to the argument made by Schmitt.